September 24-30, 2017, marked the most recent installment of . Created in 1982 by the American Library Association (ALA), Banned Books Week calls attention to books that have been challenged or banned by local, state, or federal organizations (particularly libraries and schools), emphasizing the importance of free speech and expression. Described by the ALA as the ”annual celebration of the freedom to read,” Banned Books Week is held every year during the last week of September.
In celebration of Banned Books Week, the new cohort of the took their first trip to the . There they met with Beth Lander and Caitlin Angelone, the Library's College Librarian and Reference Librarian, respectively, who introduced them to the diverse materials the Historical Medical Library has to offer. During their visit, the students entered the library stacks, the climate-controlled space in which the College of Physicians' vast collection of medical-related books and manuscripts are stored. In the spirit of Banned Books Week, they also viewed several books in the collection that have been challenged for various reasons, including books related to witchcraft and sexual health.
Following their trip to the Library, the students returned to the classroom to discuss the tenets of Banned Books Week. Youth Program Coordinator Kevin Impellizeri challenged them to consider the definitions of "censorship" and "obscenity" and critically examine why individuals or groups would attempt to challenge access to a particular book. They came to the conclusion that "objectionable material" is largely in the eye of the beholder, shaped by a wide variety of factors, including taste, cultural norms, and religious beliefs; as a result, there is no one shared standard for obscenity. They then applied what they learned by going through numerous influential books that have been challenged or banned, including the and selected readings from the 2012 Library of Congress exhibit .